Movie Night
by socks-lost
Summary: It's a typical movie night Thursday for the pair, only Maura can't help her wandering thoughts. Fluff-ish. No longer a one-shot. Will be three chapters long. (Three-shot?)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I had a "beta"/editor person on this one! IsaBabisa! Exciting stuff! Originally was supposed to be part of a larger story but I couldn't find a rhythm and I think it works well as a one shot. Also wrote this before watching 3x11 and there's mention of a flu shot but I couldn't figure a way around that so it stayed so I guess you could say it's a before 3x11 story. (Because nothing I write is ever 'in verse' apparently.)

**Disclaimer: **Don't own. No money. ETC.

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Maura watched Jane walk around her kitchen like it was hers with an adoring smile playing on her lips. She loved that Jane was so comfortable in her own home. Jane was leaning against a counter, long fingers were tapping a beat on top of the bar and her hip was resting against it halfcocked where Maura could just make out the gold badge sticking out from underneath her blazer.

"Man, Maur, you should have seen that guy's face when Frost cornered him…priceless." Jane laughed a slow easy smile on her lips. There were times when Jane really loved her job. It was hard, of course it was, but there was something – something unexplainable – about how it felt getting murderers off of the streets of her city. She loved cuffing people who thought they could take lives like it meant nothing, loved the shock on their face when they were found out a hand in the cookie-jar. It was undoubtedly satisfying and the reason she woke up and did what she did day after day. It was an amazing feeling knowing that she could give justice to the people that fought back, to those who didn't, and to the ones who didn't even get the chance. She had the best job in the world, shitty days, crappy pay and all. Jane smiled broadly at Maura showing off her impeccable teeth and the dimples in her cheeks.

And then Maura felt it again like a sudden jolt to her system, that familiar swooping sensation in the pit of her stomach that left her floundering like a fish out of water searching desperately for a breath she couldn't quite catch.

Looking at Jane, being around her lately was like diving off of a cliff into the clear lake below, all adrenaline and epinephrine and excitement. It was a strange mix of feeling alive and terrified and happy. It wasn't the first time it happened, and she knew it wasn't going to be the last because she had fallen deeply, roughly, irrevocably in love with all the things that Jane was. It felt as though it had happened decades ago even though she hadn't even known the detective that long. Love was just that powerful. And when she fell, she fell hard.

Maura turned back to the salad she was tossing trying to not let the sigh she felt building behind her lips escape. Of course it didn't start out that way. In fact it started out so small she hadn't even noticed. She admired Jane's dedication – to her job, her family, her life. And that rapidly grew into something else entirely, a whole beast on its own and the admiration grew into _more. _ More than just an admiration of a good quality in a great friend, more than just a passing moment, more than a fleeting thought in the wee hours of a lonely night. Because it was the way Jane tried so hard to be stoic and unyielding only to have her expressive, Italian face give her away that Maura started to fall for after the admiration. Something as simple as the tiny twitch of an eyebrow was something she'd grown to love, come to look for. Then it was her body. Her tall, lean frame, the cleft in her chin, and the way she had trouble walking in a certain heel. But above it all, much like her dedication, it was her passion. Jane had the kind of passion that people should've been jealous of. She could go headfirst into danger, stand toe to toe against career-threatening lawyers…she could do anything, _be_ anything that she needed to be when she needed to because she believed in what she was doing and she cared. And Maura could only imagine what that passion would look like directed into a love that they shared together.

She continued to toss the salad and listen as Jane spoke. She loved listening to Jane speak about her arrests. There was a near arrogance that emanated from her pores, a cockiness that dipped into her words, and a mischievous glint in her dark eyes – a post-arrest glow of sorts. But the one thing above all of those things that got Maura all twisted and turned on the inside was the knee weakening half smirk, half crooked grin that danced across Jane's lips as she talked. She wanted, more than anything, to place her lips over that half smirk, half crooked grin every time it showed itself, and it was out in full force that night. Maura couldn't help her own smile as Jane grinned broadly at her (she wanted to kiss that one too) as she made her way around the counter.

Jane reached out to gently grab both of Maura's hands. "That salad has been sufficiently tossed. Can we eat now?" She asked sticking her bottom lip out slightly.

Maura rolled her eyes because it was a normal thing to do and tried once again to ignore the quickening of her heart at Jane's touch. "Sit." She pointed to the table.

"Yes!" Jane hissed going towards the table. She kept smiling as she placed two piping hot, dripping with cheese, pieces of pizza on Maura's plate. Thursday's were their nights to just hang out as best friends, their nights to let their hair down, and had hence become Maura's 'cheat day' because Jane was usually in charge of their dinner plans which usually meant Chinese takeout or pizza or cheeseburgers or something else entirely unhealthy. No matter what happened in the week, how bad or good it was, they always had Thursday.

Maura walked over putting the salad she'd been mindlessly working on in the middle of the table. She put a fresh, cold beer in front of Jane's plate with a bottle opener she knew the other woman wasn't going to use next to it. And as per usual Jane rolled her eyes at the bottle opener before grabbing the beer and twisting the top off with her hands. She tossed the cap on the table and took a slow drink. Maura laughed shaking her head before placing the napkins on the table. They were the paper kind rather than the cloth ones that were her usual standard. Jane had insisted she buy – and use – them when they had dinner together saying that the cloth ones were far too fancy for pizza and beer. Maura had reluctantly agreed.

Jane turned to grab the bottle of wine Maura had been drinking from and filled her empty wine glass. Their arms brushed and Jane caught a whiff of a peachy, flowery scent when Maura's hair swung over her shoulder. "Is that a new perfume?"

Maura felt her face flushing at their closer proximity. "Why yes, it is."

"Mhmm." Jane nodding sniffing again. "It smells nice."

"Thank you." They sat down in their respective chairs. Maura passed the salad bowl to Jane. It was the second pout she'd gotten that night, the second time she wanted to tell Jane just exactly what that pout did to her. "You're going to eat _some _greens tonight, Jane." Also, the second time she ignored all of the feelings bubbling just under the surface of her skin.

"Ughh, you're almost as bad as my mother." Jane complained good naturedly as she made a show of dishing the leafy greens onto the side of her plate. "Just don't go start complaining about how skinny I am or how I need to find someone to take care of me, alright?"

Maura nodded, fighting the urge to tell Jane that she was perfect and to not listen to her mother. That she would take care of her forever if she just let her. "Deal." And like every time before it, she said one word because she was dealing in reality and not a fantasy world. She continued to eat her pizza and salad.

Jane couldn't stop smiling. There was something about the picture of refined, regal, Maura Isles eating a slice of pizza with her hands that always made her happy. It was stupid, she knew it was stupid, but it was almost as if accepting the greasy slice of pizza into her body she was also accepting Jane into her life. "So what are the chances I get the flu next?" Jane asked spearing a piece of lettuce. "'Cause I think Frost's been looking a little under the weather and I _hate _being sick." The flu had hit the Boston Homicide unit pretty hard and left Jane and Frost going almost nonstop, case to case for nearly three weeks.

"You could've just gotten the flu shot like I did." Maura countered taking a bite out of her slice of pizza.

"Yeah, no." Jane said. "Needles and I don't get along."

Maura rolled her eyes. "And you can't just assume that because Detective Frost has been under the weather that he's going to become ill." She took a sip of her wine. "You've both been working very hard these last few weeks."

Jane nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Overtime pay rocks though."

Maura shook her head and they continued eating their dinner until they were both too full and the pizza box and salad bowl was empty. Jane popped the movie into the DVD player and they moved to sit on the couch, Jane with her beer and Maura with her glass of red.

Jane pulled one sock clad foot underneath her and threw an arm over the back of the couch where Maura settled her head just barely against it. It didn't occur to either of them that maybe best friends didn't sit thigh to thigh, knee to knee, head on shoulder while they watched a movie. They sat that way at such a frequent rate that it wasn't remotely new or even something to be curious about it just…was. It was how they always sat and it was comfortable, so why change it?

By the time the credits began to roll Maura had ended up curled into Jane's entire right side with Jane's arm coming around her shoulders completely, her fingers playing mindlessly with the ends golden hair. Maura sighed quietly. If she just closed her eyes for a moment, however brief, she could pretend, let her imagination go wild.

It was a game she played as a child when she needed her parents but was too afraid to ask, after a nightmare, just standing in front of their door a tiny fist holding the sleeve of her nightgown because big girls didn't sleep with stuffed animals and big girls didn't need their parents either. So she would close her eyes and pretend that she could open the door and slide into bed between them and her mother would rub her back but of course that never happened and she always wound up turning around and going back into her bed alone. Or when she was at the playground with her nanny, she could close her eyes and pretend that she was just playing hide and go seek with the other kids instead of on a bench alone because even at that age she was weird and strange and different.

Only, Jane never made her feel that way. Jane almost always knew what she needed without being told, whether it be space or a hug or a tissue. Jane was always there even if she was weird and different. But this, Jane would have never predicted this because _she _hadn't even predicted this would happen. This, this falling in love business was tricky on its own not to mention the fact that Jane was _Jane. _Detective Jane, Best Friend Jane, Solid-as-a-Rock Jane.

But in these near perfect moments of sitting side by side on her couch as lyrics of a song she didn't recognize and credits from a movie played in the background, she could close her eyes and pretend that Jane was also Girlfriend Jane, Love of her Life Jane, Always and Forever Jane, Lover Jane. If she tried hard enough, she could pretend that Jane's hold on her was more than friendly, that Jane loved her too in the way Maura only wished. She could pretend that she could simply kiss Jane gently on the lips, grab her hand and lead her to her bedroom. She could pretend that Jane was hers and hers alone.

So she closed her eyes for a second and inhaled through her nose trying to frame this moment in memory, knowing that one day someone, someone much braver than she, would come and sweep Jane away from her and onto their white steed in a suit of armor. And she'd be standing next to Jane at Fenway or wherever they chose to get married in a Red Sox red Maid of Honor dress holding Jane's bouquet while she pledged to spend her life with an as-of-yet faceless stranger.

Jane on the other hand was oblivious to the path of Maura's thoughts. She was just grateful they had come back to each other. She was grateful she could still sit on the couch with her best friend who miraculously didn't hate her anymore to watch a movie. The incident at the warehouse had been months ago but still, Jane knew she was lucky to have Maura. So she pulled the smaller woman closer and kissed the top of her head. "I think it's time I head home, you look like you're about to fall asleep on me." Jane half laughed.

Maura sat up blinking out of her reverie, trying to keep the feeling of Jane's lips on her skull in her mind. She pulled away from Jane's grasp and gave herself a small stretch. She didn't realize how tired she was until Jane had pointed it out to her. Jane and Frost weren't the only ones that had been working nonstop. The flu had also hit her team and she'd been doing double duty as well. She blinked again as Jane stood. "Stay." Jane looked at her an eyebrow half raised. "It's late and there's a sixty percent chance of precipitation and you've been drinking."

Before Maura could continue on talking about the statistics of getting into a car accident at such a late hour, Jane interrupted her. "Okay, I'll stay." She looked around Maura's impeccable living room as if surveying the place. "I've definitely spent the night in worse places." She looked at Maura giving her one of her Rizzoli Grins. "Definitely worse company too, but," She offered the doctor her hand pulling her to her feet. "We're both going to call it a night."

Maura tried to ignore the way Jane's hand fit perfectly in hers. "Of course."

A few minutes later Maura was helping Jane put the throw pillows from the guest bed onto the chair in the corner of the room and Jane was sliding into the bed. She walked to the door shutting off the light. "Jane?"

"Yeah, Maura?" Came Jane's raspy reply.

_I'm in love with you,_ she thought. She swallowed allowing a slight, second pause stand between their words. "Goodnight."

"G'night." Jane replied with a smile as she made herself comfy on the bed.

Maura shook her head at herself as she walked back to her room. Maybe one day, one day she'd show some courage and tell Jane where her heart truly was. Until then, she would be happy with movie night Thursdays.

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**A/N: **Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Okay so a lot of you wanted a second chapter from Jane's point of view, so here we are. It has a different tone, I did that on purpose. I debated a lot whether or not I should make this its own little story but obviously I didn't. Also if you liked the first chapter as a standalone and this is something you don't want then **avert your eyes! This doesn't exist! Abort mission! **

**Disclaimer: **Don't own. No Money. ETC.

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Jane threw her keys on her coffee table before falling face first onto her couch. It had been a _long _week with everything from that day going straight to the highlight reel.

First, she and Frost finally caught up to their suspect. A suspect who ran from them and decided running along the banks of the Boston harbor in the middle of fall would be the best means of escape. And of course she just _had _to chase after him and tackle him in shallow water by the banks. To add insult to freezing agony and a dodgy shoulder Detective Steven Samuels from the Assault Unit had cornered her in front of the elevator and had the nerve to ask her out on a date in the middle of the atrium in front of her partner and their murder suspect. (Her answer had been one big _hell no_.) Maura had given her an extra set of scrubs though while Frankie ran off to fetch her dry cleaning, but that also meant that she'd been walking around in scrubs that were at least two inches too short and getting strange looks from her colleagues for the better part of the evening.

To top it off, as she was going back down to the morgue to see if Maura would pick up their food for movie night and to return the scrubs she saw Lieutenant Raymond from vice flirting with Maura.

She growled into the pillow just thinking of that smarmy bastard. He was all bad boy without the actual bad, and an arrogant ass. Which put him right up Maura's alley. He'd been laying some heavy groundwork with the medical examiner all week too and she'd had about enough of his stupid ass grin as she could handle. Because seriously, if Maura was going to date beneath her and slum it with Boston PD's most eligible singles, it should've been her.

An unreasonable blush raced across her face at the thought. It was a fairly new thought, but it was there and real and she wasn't stupid.

She always knew there was something different about Maura. That Maura had her own little category of where she fit in her life because she'd never had any type of friendship like the one she'd had with Maura before. She'd never had any type of anything like she'd had with Maura. She could never place what exactly that feeling was. She was trying and she was on the cusp of figuring it out. The moment they shared last week on Maura's couch and the indescribable tone in Maura's voice as she said goodnight had moved her down a path she didn't know the end to.

Until Tuesday, when she saw the vice squad commander shooting charming, puppy eyes at Maura over a trace evidence file.

It wasn't the first time she wanted to smack someone for looking at Maura like she was a piece of meat or a fine wine that they just couldn't wait to have. It wasn't the first time that she was filled with unnecessary hatred and rage and…jealousy over a man, over anyone flirting with her best friend. And it made her think and brood and boom, she figured it out.

She didn't want anyone else to get into Maura's pants because _she _wanted to get into Maura's pants. She wanted to be the only one that _could_ get into Maura's pants. Which was a crude way of saying she wanted to be with Maura, she wanted to take her to the opera, and the orchestra, and watch cheesy movies with her on Thursday nights, and cuddle (on the couch or the bed or the floor or in a chair…) She wanted to be the cause of that stupid adorable smile, the reason for her laughter, why she showed up to a crime scene in mismatching shoes. _She wanted_. She couldn't remember the last time she actually wanted anyone. Her relationships were usually relations of convenience, or to get her mother off her back. Work was always more interesting, more entertaining, just…better than trying at some relationship that was probably going to fail anyway. But she found, scarily enough, that Maura was someone she wanted. In all the ways she shouldn't.

Was it love? She almost laughed. She didn't know. How could she ever know? She just knew out of all the people she could've picked Maura was both the worst and the best choice. Worst, because they were straight, they were friends, they were colleagues, it would get messy. Best, because…well it _was _Maura. Maura who was kind and generous and amazing and cute and funny in her own weird, strange way and gorgeous and she had this crazy smile that could right all wrongs and damn, she had it bad.

Some would actually argue that she was in fact stupid because it took her that long to realize it but semantics.

She sighed. What to do with this seemingly brand new information was a whole other issue.

She heard a still leashed Jo Friday running around the kitchen presumably getting some water before she felt tiny paws and the light weight of her dog on her back. "_Jo._" Jane grumbled into the pillow, this wasn't helping her back in the least. The little pup just snorted and continued walking, her little claws digging into her thin shirt. Jane laughed and turned her head away as Jo started licking her ear. "Ew, knock it off Jo Friday!" Jo Friday was relentless though and Jane soon felt herself laughing harder as she sat up. She cooped the little fur ball into her arms snuggling her into her chest. Jo Friday barked playfully before wiggling in Jane's lap to continue her licking assault on Jane's face. "Ugh, remind me to give you a bath this weekend." Jane complained. She took the leash off and rested her head against the back of the couch hoping Maura would get there soon because she was starving. Of course just as she thought this Jo Friday leapt from her lap and ran towards the opening door her tags jangling and tail wagging furiously behind her. "Traitor." Jane said as she stood.

"Are you talking about me or the dog?" Maura laughed smiling at Jane as she walked through the door arms ladened with to-go boxes.

Jane hurried towards her friend and took most of the boxes from her. "The dog." She smirked fighting the urge to kiss Maura on the cheek. Because that would be dumb. "Why would I be talking about you?" She put a serious look on her face. "Have you been blabbing to my mother again?"

"No, I have not." Maura laughed again shutting and locking the door.

"Good." She put all of the boxes on the table. "Man, where did you go and what are we eating tonight?" She sniffed the air. "Smells like Italian."

Maura smiled and went to grab some plates from Jane's cabinet. "I know you've had a long week."

"We both did."

Maura nodded. "So I thought we'd have a bit more of a heartier meal than usual. I went to that nice Italian diner we both enjoy so much and got us a carry out meal." Jane nodded through a mouth already full of a piece of garlic bread. "Speaking of gossip," Maura said after a moment. "I hear a detective from the assault unit asked you out for a date." Maura tried to keep her voice even, tried not to give in to the jealousy she felt at the mere mention of someone else dating Jane. Because this was what she wanted, right? It was her fault for not having the courage to tell Jane how she truly felt and if someone else had that courage she couldn't begrudge them for it. She just had to be there for her best friend if and when she needed her to be. She could do that. "I also hear you told him no." Her opinion was probably a biased one but Jane deserved far better than that man. She'd never had any prolonged discussions with him and although she'd heard he was a good detective she also heard he was a joke and there was some rumor about a book in which he kept all of his 'conquest's' names.

Jane swallowed the bread in her mouth. "I don't know where you get your information, young lady but it is faulty. I said _hell_ no." She grabbed her beer and took a long drink. "And we are not talking about my love life." She saw Maura's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Jane grabbed a piece of bread from the basket and stuck it in Maura's mouth before she could say anything about the amazing benefits of sex or how her love life was as dusty as the books on her bookshelf. Maura looked at her with amused eyes and grabbed the bread from her mouth. "What about you? Has _Lieutenant Raymond _asked you out on a date yet?"

Maura looked at Jane quizzically. There was clear distaste in the way she had said his name. But then, Jane never liked the men she dated or showed any interest in so maybe it didn't mean anything. It was just Jane being overprotective. "He did."

Jane swallowed. Of course he did. Of course mister big shot, vice commander asked her out on a date. Who wouldn't ask Maura out on a date? She wouldn't. Obviously. Because they were straight and friends and colleagues and… "You know I went to the academy with him?" That was not what she wanted to say.

"Really?" Maura sat in her chair as she and Jane started eating their dinner.

Jane nodded. "Yeah." She reached across the table for another piece of bread only to have a sharp pain shoot up her arm at the move. She winced.

"What's wrong?" Maura said worriedly standing from her chair almost immediately.

"Nothing." Jane hissed slightly embarrassed. "It's nothing." But Maura was already standing next to her. She held Jane's arm at the elbow with her left hand and used the right to poke at Jane's side. "Personal space." Jane mumbled pretending to be annoyed. She tried not to get lost in the totally not new sensations that Maura's touch caused. (Maybe her intelligence should've actually been brought into question because that explosive shot of electricity down her spine was old news.) She tried not to lean into the heat radiating from the other woman's body, tried not to let Maura's flowery perfume trap her in a daze. She remembered last week, how every time Maura came by her desk or she the morgue she caught that amazing scent and she just wanted to know what it was. And then over dinner and watching the movie it was the only thing she could think about. A person should not smell that good, but Maura did. The doctor poked her just underneath her shoulder blade and pressed. "Ow!" And just like that Jane was jolted back into the moment. She glared at Maura who chuckled.

"When we're done eating I'm going to give you a massage." Maura said gently letting go of Jane's arm and going back to her chair.

"No." She took a bite of her pasta trying to get rid of the image Maura accidently placed there. He shook her head. She looked up, locking eyes with Maura. The doctor gave her one of those looks that always, always got her to do anything.

…

Jane laid on the floor the right side of her cheek resting on a pillow from her couch in nothing but her bra and jeans with her hair twisted in a messy bun. Ugh, she groaned. Maura and her stupid face and her stupid eyes and her stupid stupidness always getting her to do stupid things.

"Okay, this…" Maura trailed off as her eyes landed on Jane. She swallowed as her eyes racked down Jane's back. The vertebra of Jane's spine, the large expanse of Italian olive skin, the black bra, and the muscles she suddenly forgot the name of all caught her completely off guard and left her thinking that this was a terribly thought out idea. She hadn't even thought of this when she offered. She blinked licking her lips. She could do this. She could be professional and cool. She cleared her throat and took a determined step forward.

The second Maura's fingers touched the base of her neck Jane knew this was a bad idea. A very bad idea and was incredibly thankful that she could blame the shiver, the hitch in her breath, and the goosebumbs on her skin on the cold lotion on Maura's fingers. She closed her eyes determined to get over the fact that this was Maura, that she wanted to roll over and kiss her and forget about the massage. Because that would be dumb. Maura was just being helpful, because that's what Maura did. Like offering her mother the guest house and volunteering on undercover operations and drinking boxed wine on her couch and sharing a blanket after she'd been kidnapped and…She took a deep breath catching herself as she tried not to moan out loud as Maura hit a particular spot. (Because how embarrassing would that be?) Maura's fingers were working some sort of magic over her neck and shoulders. She found herself sighing contently as nimble fingers pushed and prodded and glided over her skin.

Maura was doing her best to remember the technique she'd learned while in medical school. She wanted to do it right, this was about Jane after all. Jane was a cop. Cops had high stress jobs, high stress and tense muscles as was evidenced clearly in Jane beneath her. Jane had told her about the tackle in the water. At the time with Jane soaking wet and shivering somehow looking both completely miserable and adorable she hadn't paid attention to brief flinch of pain that crossed her face when she handed over the scrubs. But now looking at Jane's back she could clearly see a small area of redness and a tiny barely there light purple line from a forming bruise where she assumed Jane had hit a rock in the water. Just as she was getting a handle on the whole thing she reached Jane's bra. She swallowed. "Jane do you mind if I…" Instead of finishing her sentence she touched the clasp of the bra hoping Jane got the message. She wasn't sure if she could say _Jane can I unhook your bra? _In an appropriate, straight-laced manner.

Jane nodded her head. "Mmm." Frankly at this point, Jane didn't really care what Maura asked her to do because it just felt so damn _good_. She'd never had a massage before, never wanted one. They were like baths in her opinion. Nice if you were bored but ultimately she could almost always find something better to do, like watching a COPS marathon or Most Daring Police Chases, or going to the shooting range, hell even going for a run was more enticing than sitting and wasting time in a bath tub. Also, she definitely didn't like the whole strangers seeing her naked thing about massages. But letting Maura do this was something else. It just felt so undeniably good. She had no idea how tense she actually was.

Maura shifted on her knees at the near moan that came from Jane's mouth. With slightly shaking hands she unclasped Jane's bra and eased the material out of the way. Her eyes skimmed down Jane's now completely bare back, taking the time to memorize every detail, every curve, every dip of her skin. As her eyes traveled further they caught the exit wound the bullet all those years ago made. She had a flash of a moment kneeling on the ground in front of their work, their safe place, their home away from home, trying to stop the bleeding, doing everything in her power to stop Jane's blood from spilling even further. Her fingers graced over the old scar and she felt Jane roll her hip slightly and another repressed sound escape the brunette's lips. There was so much yelling that day, so many sirens, so many gunshots, and victims. She shook her head looking back at Jane. She wanted to kiss her shoulder, wanted to whisper in her ear she was stupid and brave and reckless but those were redeemable qualities in handfuls and she wouldn't be Jane without them and she loved her for it. She loved her, period.

"So when are you going out with Ray?" Jane's voice was barely a whisper, darker and huskier than usual. She hoped Maura wouldn't notice and if she did hoped she wouldn't point it out.

"I'm not sure." Maura said glad for something to distract her from her thoughts. She continued the massage.

Jane sighed her eyelids fluttering as Maura's skilled fingers moved once more. She couldn't believe her thoughts. She'd only had three whole days to come to terms with the fact that she wanted to be with Maura. And now she knew without a doubt that she wanted Maura so wholly, so completely it was kind of shameful. Because Maura was just being Maura and helping her out. She shouldn't have been thinking about what other things Maura could do with those fingers of hers. She shouldn't have been thinking of kissing the medical examiner breathless when she was doing such a good thing for her. Nope. So she brought her mind back to the present. "What do you mean?"

"I never gave him an answer." Jane quirked an eyebrow that Maura couldn't see. "I believe his exact words were we should go get drinks sometime and then you walked in with the scrubs and he left."

Jane grinned triumphantly at that. "I don't think you should." She said quietly.

"Why not?" Maura said her voice just as quiet. Her heart sped up for an unknown reason. Maybe…maybe Jane felt the same way?

_Because I want you to go out with me, _Jane thought. She licked her lips. She could say it. It wasn't that complicated. But they were straight and friends and colleagues and it would inevitably get complicated because everything she ever did was complicated. "He's an ass."

Maura laughed. She didn't know what she was expecting really but that wasn't one of the options. It was just random and so _Jane _she couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I've heard the same about Detective Samuels."

Jane laughed. "Yeah, well see there's a reason I told him no." She closed her eyes and shifted her hips again as Maura pressed on a particular spot on her lower back. "That feels good." She murmured breathily.

Maura blinked trying to come up with something to say as she continued to work Jane's back and continued to do her best to ignore the breathy sounds, the almost moans coming from Jane. It was making her head spin. She wanted to know what Jane _really _sounded like when being touched in other places on a more sensual level. She took a deep breath as her hands moved lower and lower.

She concentrated solely on the message and tried not to let her mind get too far ahead of her. She, having remembered now, recited each of the muscles she touched and their function in her mind as she continued. Soon, she ran out of back to massage and instead let her fingers trace idly up and down Jane's spine. By this point she was sure the woman had fallen asleep if the soft even breathing coming from her nose was any indicator. So she sat back on her butt and let her hand drift over Jane's back and her mind over scenarios that weren't entirely appropriate. She would chastise herself for doing it but she found right then as she sat on Jane's floor with a half-naked Jane Rizzoli almost assuredly asleep she didn't mind, didn't care if it was appropriate or not. If she couldn't have the real thing there was no shame in letting her imagination roam, much like it had the previous movie night, only this time her thoughts were a little more risqué.

Eventually though, she did need to go home. She clasped Jane's bra back into place and stood. She grabbed her purse and slipped her heels on before draping the small blanket from the back of the couch over Jane's form on the floor. "Goodnight, Jane."

Jane opened her eyes lazily immediately missing Maura's touch and her heat. She stood up pulling the blanket around her and saw Maura walking towards the door. "Hey, Maur?"

"Yes, Jane?" Maura turned

"Thank you." She said as sincerely as she could muster. "Text me to tell me you got home safe?" She yawned.

Maura smiled and Jane felt her knees grow weak. "I will."

**A/N: **There will be a third chapter. (It's also already written baring some embellishments.)

Thanks for reading/reviewing!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I mean this in the best way possible but y'all are crazy. I just can't really believe that 52 of y'all have this dumb little story that wasn't even supposed to be a story alerted. Which is my way of saying everyone reading this is awesome and thank you! Also, I tried my best to make it equal parts of Jane and Maura.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own. No money. ETC.

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Jane shoved the vacuum into the hall closet. She had no idea why she was so nervous. It was just movie night. Movie night as always. She had popcorn ready to be popped, organic chocolate chip cookies, a bottle of Maura's reasonably priced wine, plenty of beer, and Top Gun waiting in the wings after they watched the DVR'd Patriots game. It was just movie night. But that thought didn't quell her nerves.

All week, since that stupid massage, all she could think about was Maura. It was a good thing she wasn't on rotation and that nearly the whole squad was back from the flu so she didn't have to work overtime or have any open cases as she worked through this difficult time.

She'd been on the verge of telling Maura her feelings at least half a dozen times. Half a dozen times she was struck in awe of Maura's dimples and her scent and the lab coat, especially the lab coat. Their eyes would lock and she could feel the confession just at the tip of her tongue right behind her teeth, one breath away from being out there but then her mother would pop up (at breakfast) or Frankie would butt in (at lunch) or Frost would tell some joke (mid-afternoon) or Korsak would complain about vending machine food choices (just before closing time) or a car would honk or a lab tech would barge in asking for help.

It was obviously not in the cards for Maura to know about any of her secret thoughts. But nevertheless she was worried that she would slip. And would slipping really be that bad? Would it be worse than watching Maura date some loser who wasn't good enough? (But then wasn't she some loser who wasn't good enough?) Would it be worse than listening to her faun over that guy? Or, heaven forbid, standing next to Maura at a wedding? She could already feel the resentment growing in the pit of her stomach at the thought. And that, _that _shitty feeling more than unreciprocated feelings was what would ruin their friendship from the ground up.

So maybe she would tell Maura tonight, maybe she wouldn't, maybe she'd tell her tomorrow or the next day or maybe they would just continue as they've always been: Jane and Maura solving crimes, and watching movies, obviously there was more than that but she felt it a good descriptor.

She didn't know. She couldn't read the future. She didn't have some mystical crystal ball or a magical deck of cards. The best she could do was hope for the best and let the dice fall, and pray it didn't knock the whole house down and tear up the foundation upon impact.

…

Maura smoothed her hands nervously over her dress. She had no reason to be nervous. She was just going to Jane's apartment on a Thursday. There was no need for the tension between her shoulder blades. There just wasn't. It was just Jane. Only no matter how many times she told herself that it was _just Jane _her heart would leap (metaphorically) in her chest and the rhythm would speed up. Saying it was 'just Jane' was like saying the M.D. she'd worked so hard for was just some degree, that being the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was just a job. Because Jane was, she felt herself smiling before she could even finish the sentence. _Get a hold of yourself, Maura._ She chastised herself internally, _you are acting like an uneducated, lovesick schoolgirl_.

She sighed. Every instance she saw Jane at work or at dinner for the past week she couldn't keep her eyes from roaming. There was one horrifying moment when Jane had dropped a coin on the floor in front of the vending machines and bent to pick it up and her eyes were glued to the detective's derrière. The horrifying part was when Sergeant Korsak had walked towards them and asked Jane if there were any Cheetos left.

To make matters worse, throughout the entire week she'd caught Jane staring at her with a certain indiscernible look in her chocolate eyes. Jane had very expressive eyes and she usually had a knack for understanding what Jane was trying to convey, but during these instances there were so many emotions floating across the woman's face all one after the other that Maura couldn't help but not understand. The way Jane had been treating her this past week was just strange in general. It was nice, but different. Jane would touch her arm gently, leaned more into her, sat closer to her than normal. At this new contact from Jane she felt that same old childhood insecurity envelope her like a suffocating blanket. What did it all mean?

She looked around her house. Her eyes landed on Bass who was eating his cactus pads slowly. She smiled and took a deep breath. It was just Jane. It was just movie night.

…

Jane jumped into the air with a small yelp of excitement and remarkably all of her beer stayed in the bottle in her hand. The Patriots were going for a touchdown, a touchdown that would win the freaking game. And if they won the game they were only one more away from going to the playoffs. The detective watched with baited breath, even if she already knew the ending. That was the trouble with working with a bunch of guys during football season, or any season really. They all knew the scores exactly when they happened even if they were in the middle of work. She was usually a part of that but last Sunday she'd gone shopping with Maura and then had dinner with her mother and Maura and ended up asleep on Maura's couch. But she, like any die-hard football fan who worked stupid crazy hours, already had her DVR set to tape the game. And it was a very good thing. Because the game was awesome.

Maura watched Jane watch the television. It was just Jane and movie night. She felt silly now for ever thinking otherwise as she watched the detective cheer, eyes wide staring at the TV. There was this almost childlike wonder about the detective when she watched sports. Anytime Jane watched a game it was like her entire world was centered on that court, or field, or rink. The cases, the job, the hurt, the pain – none of it mattered. Jane had the most spectacular tunnel vision she'd ever been witness to. She could add that to the ever growing list of all of the things she'd fallen for. It was also one of the many reasons SportsCenter and other various sporting events almost always made it to her DVR.

Jane watched as her team scored the winning touchdown. She indulged in one more tiny jump and a shout of excitement before grabbing the remote and turning off the TV. She took a satisfied drink of her beer, scratched Jo Friday behind her ears and turned to Maura full, face-cracking grin in place. Their eyes met. Jane felt that flip in her stomach she'd been feeling all week.

_Maybe it would happen, maybe it wouldn't. There would be other Ray's. There would be men. Women like Maura didn't stay single long. Make your move or you'll regret it. Resentment would ruin their friendship. Take a chance. Be a big kid. Go for it. Maybe…maybe Maura felt the same way. _It was her personal pep talk from each day of the entire week previous all smashed together. Except for that last one. She'd never thought of that last one until right at that precise moment. She'd been too busy worrying about the other side, too caught up in what could go wrong but Maura was looking at her with a loving smile on her lips, like she was the best thing she'd ever seen and she couldn't contain it anymore.

Jane had turned around so suddenly Maura didn't have the time to change her facial expression or say something about the anthropology of sports or the evolution of American football. But Jane was staring at her in awe and wonder and…love. But it couldn't be love, could it? It had to be something else because Jane, Jane just couldn't possibly be in love with her. Jane couldn't possibly feel anything more than platonic things for her. Jane was everything she wasn't and Jane couldn't possibly love her the way Maura hoped there was just no way.

Three strides later Jane found herself standing in front of Maura toe to toe, mere inches apart. Maura looked delightfully confused and Jane wanted to say something big and life changing and poetic. She wanted to take the time to memorize Maura's face, to trace her fingertips over her lightly freckled cheeks. But those hazel eyes were boring into hers and she couldn't pull away. Instead she stepped closer. Their fingers intertwined and when lips met Jane felt more than heard Maura emit a small gasp of surprise.

There was the tiniest glimpse of panic edging into her veins in the briefest moment between that gasp and Maura's fingers grabbing at Jane's shirt as she kissed her back. Jane's eyes closed instantly as she pulled Maura impossibly closer. She tasted like the wine she'd been drinking, and chocolate. And the smell of her perfume was just as incredible even as close as they were. She could feel Maura's small fingers wrapping themselves in the fabric of her shirt holding tight as if she might disappear and never return. She wanted to ease her worries, wanted to say 'I've got you. I'm not going anywhere. I love you.' Which was quite a leap from saying she didn't want anyone to get into Maura's pants because she wanted to get into Maura's pants. Quite a leap and quite poetic if she thought about it. But every time she tried to pull away to tell Maura this, the doctor only kissed her harder, pulled her tighter as if Jane might _actually_ disappear. Jane felt her heart expand, felt her heart ache at the thought. Her only response was to kiss Maura back just as hard, just as hungry. And then Maura moaned into her mouth as their tongues met and Jane all but stopped thinking about everything to focus solely on the woman in her arms.

In the span of a second it seemed the kiss grew and backs were pushed against walls as moans filled the apartment, shirts were tugged out of pants, shoes were kicked off until they were both down to their underwear on Jane's bed panting and wanting.

"Jane." Maura rasped pushing at Jane's shoulders until they were eye to eye. Some part of her knew they were past the point of no return. After all she was lying on Jane's bed in her underwear, her dress resting somewhere on the floor between the couch and the bed. And Jane was on top of her in the same level of undress. Maura wanted nothing more than to take Jane all the way to the tip of bliss and push her over the edge. She had wanted this, been waiting for this exact moment for a very long time and she just…she needed to know, needed Jane to understand. "Jane." She tried again closing her eyes because if she looked into those dark, lust filled eyes any longer she was sure she'd fall apart right there. "I – I can't do this if it's just one night." She rushed, eyes still screwed tight as she put in all of her effort to not let her body get out of her control. Because _god, _everything about what they were doing felt so heavenly_._ Jane's weight on top of hers, Jane body heat radiating on top of her, her breasts pushed into her own, the just-barely rough hands gliding over her hips teasing and taunting – it was an overload to her senses and she wanted more, needed more. She couldn't remember the last time she _wanted _someone so much in her life. She swallowed.

"It won't be." Jane said quietly. She couldn't believe any of this was happening. She couldn't believe Maura actually felt the same way. She began kissing Maura down her jaw and to her neck. She couldn't get enough. She let her hands dance across smooth, toned, pale skin, and let her mind get lost in all of it.

Maura mustered up as much control as she could and pushed at Jane's shoulders one last time. "I mean it, Jane." She said simply. "I can't wake up in the morning and pretend this didn't happen." Somewhere inside of her chest actually hurt at the thought. She couldn't be this intimate, this open and vulnerable with the woman she loved only for it to be a one night mistake. She could with others, other people she liked even, but not Jane. Never Jane.

Jane bit her lip. She couldn't control her eyes as they moved up and down Maura's scantily clad form. She swallowed thickly before moving off of Maura and standing. She didn't want to push her. She should probably take her out on a date first or something anyway before they jumped into bed together. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, even though the image of _Maura _in _her underwear _on _her bed _was already burned onto her eyelids and their heavy breathing was still ringing through the room. "I don't want that either." She finally said. "I-I want to take you out and…" She was going to say more, meant to say more but Maura, apparently, had other plans.

Maura's expression changed from confusion to adoration as the shaky words fell from Jane's lips. She climbed to her knees on the bed and faced Jane. She held Jane's gaze as her hands moved over taught abdominal muscles and smooth, olive skin. As she watched the detective's eyes flutter, witnessed her breathing escalate, heard the tiny almost inaudible moan come from her parted lips she had that scary thought again. She could come home to Jane for the rest of her life and be happy. She could do _this _with Jane for the rest of her days and be happy. She smiled.

Jane swallowed hard as she let Maura continue stroking her skin. She couldn't remember ever feeling this way. She couldn't think past Maura's touch anyway. It just felt so amazing and good and right. It wasn't full of too rough touches, too hurried moves, too gross words. It was just how it was supposed to be. Because it wasn't just Maura, it wasn't just about getting laid, it wasn't _just _anything. It was her best friend, it was love, it was kindness and understanding and trust and the promise of Maura's smooth, perfect body writhing underneath hers over and over, day after day. It was forever and more and so many other things.

Their eyes locked and Jane felt fire and ice and heat and passion. Just with that look. There were so many things to say, on both sides. And maybe they would talk and become a pair – a them – and maybe there was no dark side to the coin or maybe there was. Maybe they would wake up and talk about some of those things, talk of worries and issues and the like. But now, now all Jane wanted was to show Maura all of the things she couldn't find the words for, things she didn't think she'd ever find the words for.

"Then come to bed, Jane."

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**A/N: **Thanks for reading/reviewing!**  
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